Michael%20Goodman Archive

It’s been a long time since we’ve had one of these wins. Mike Aviles’ hit in the bottom of the ninth inning (with two outs!) gave the Indians their first walk off win of the year. The IBI's Michael Goodman shares his Second Thoughts on the walk off magic, the struggling bats, evaluates Danny Salazar's performances and much more.

The Indians three hit performance against the Angels on Wednesday night was a fitting end to their West Coast trip. The team finished the game just 1-for-22 from the plate, putting an exclamation point on a six game stretch of horrors. The Indians finish the month of April 11-17, and with more questions than when the season started. The IBI's Michael Goodman recaps what went wrong during the trip and the month.

The Indians rallied for a much needed 5-3 win over the Royals on Wednesday night, earning just their second win of the season against a left-handed starting pitcher in the process. The IBI's Michael Goodman reviews some of the performances from the game and notes some good and bad trends which are developing with some key Indians players.

Did anyone guess that Zach McAllister was going to be the best pitcher out of the gate this season? After another strong outing against the Tigers on Wednesday night, he might very well be. The IBI's Michael Goodman talks about McAllister's impressive outing, the continued struggles of some key players, some costly defensive miscues and more from the Indians 3-2 win over the Tigers.

Another doubleheader, another split. After a great offensive series against Minnesota and an eight run outburst on Tuesday, the Indians offense slumped in both games on Wednesday. The team managed only 11 hits in the two games, but thanks to some stellar pitching found a way to take one game of the doubleheader. The IBI's Michael Goodman provides some "second thoughts" on the games...

The Indians starting pitching staff will be trying to fill two significant holes left by the defections of Scott Kazmir and Ubaldo Jimenez. While Danny Salazar fills one of those spots, and some combination of Carlos Carrasco and Josh Tomlin will try to fill the other, it’s Corey Kluber who will slot behind Justin Masterson and be tasked with helping him carry the rotation. It’s an amazing rise Kluber has undergone to get to this point, and the IBI's Michael Goodman talks about his key role for the team this season.

The fourth player on the IBI's Michael Goodman' 2014 Key Players list is John Axford. Michael believes that Axford will be the linchpin that will determine the success of the entire Indians bullpen, and he goes into detail about why Axford having success is so important, how he stabilizes the entire bullpen, and more.

After profiling Danny Salazar and Yan Gomes, Michael Goodman is continuing his Key Players series with outfielder Michael Bourn. Unlike Salazar and Gomes, Bourn is not an up-and-coming player who the team is looking for to take on a larger role. Instead, Bourn is a player who the team will be looking for to bounce back. Join Michael as he looks at Bourn's 2013 and analyzes what to expect in 2014.

Coming over with Mike Aviles in an offseason trade in 2012 that shipped Esmil Rogers to Toronto, Yan Gomes entered camp last year mostly as an unknown. A year later, Gomes enters the season as the team’s starting catcher and one of its most important players. The IBI's Michael Goodman continues with his 2014 Key Players with a look at the Indians backstop and why he is so important to their success in 2014.

In the weeks leading up to Opening Day, the IBI's Michael Goodman is going to explore several Indians whose performance will be key to the Indians' success in 2014. Last year’s list was highlighted by Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez, knowing the importance those two pitchers would have on stabilizing a rotation that was full of question marks. With Jimenez off to Baltimore, Danny Salazar will step into his rotation void and spot on the 2014 Cleveland Indians Key Players list.

Carlos Santana and his Leones del Escogido team lost again on Wednesday night and are now down 0-3 in their league championship series in the Dominican Winter League. Santana had a good game at the plate, an area of his game he has struggled at recently, and the IBI's Michael Goodman recaps his outing...

It was a slow night in winter ball as only two Indians players were in action on Wednesday night. However, the two of them provided enough action to be excited about. First of all, Jesus Aguilar extended his current hit streak to eight games with a pair of knocks in Venezuela. Next, Carlos Santana racked up three hits, including a homer and played another night at third base without incident. Join the IBI's Michael Goodman for all the details.

Jesus Aguilar seems to have found his stride again as he reached base twice and scored two runs. Unfortunately, he was about the only bright spot for Tribe prospects in action on Wednesday night as Ronny Rodriguez, Erik Gonzalez and Carlos Moncrief went hitless. On the pitching side, Elvis Araujo and Brett Brach each had hiccups on the mound. Join the IBI's Michael Goodman as he recaps all the highlights.

It was a fairly quiet night around the winter ball leagues as Jesus Aguilar and Erik Gonzalez were the only current Tribe prospects who saw action on Wednesday. So the IBI's Michael Goodman thought he'd also check in on some old friends and see how they were doing this offseason. Check it all out as he takes a trip around the farm...

Both Carlos Moncrief and Jesus Aguilar extended their hitting streaks on Wednesday, but their lack of stringing together multiple hits as of late continues to be a mild concern this off-season. In the Dominican, Erik Gonzalez appears to be coming back to earth after swinging a hot bat for most of the off-season thus far. And meanwhile, Roberto Perez is still looking for his first winter ball hit. Join the IBI's Michael Goodman as he takes a trip around the farm.

The Indians added five players from their minor league system to the 40-man roster on Wednesday, and interestingly four of the five players are playing winter ball this offseason. Three of the four were in action on the night, and the IBI's Michael Goodman recaps all of the action around Latin America.

The Arizona Fall League is coming to a close and a few players Jake Lowery and Tyler Sturdevant likely made their last appearances on Wednesday. Also, Jesus Aguilar's recent funk and Jose Ramirez's inconsistent performance continued. The IBI's Michael Goodman recaps all of that and more as he takes us Around the Farm...

Jesus Aguilar was in the news tonight and surprisingly not because of his bat. The Tribe slugging prospect got his first start over at third base on Wednesday. In Arizona, Tyler Naquin had a rare 0-5 night while Jake Lowery reached base three times. The IBI's Michael Goodman reports all the action in Around the Farm.

Jesus Aguilar continues to play well in Venezuela, Ronny Rodriguez is getting some playing time, and Ezequiel Carrera had one of his strongest performances so far in winter ball. The IBI's Michael Goodman takes us around the farm to recap all of the action from Indians players that are playing winter ball.

A lot of the early offseason discussion has revolved around what the Indians are going to do with their starting rotation or how they can improve their lineup. But one lesser talked about item of concern is the upcoming renovation in the bullpen with Joe Smith and Matt Albers hitting free agency and Chris Perez likely being non-tendered. The IBI's Michael Goodman takes a look at what approach the Indians should take to fill their bullpen needs for 2014.

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!